


Out of Hibernation

by SonriaCat



Series: Tales from Winter Camp [6]
Category: Earth 2 (TV 1994)
Genre: 100 situations, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:50:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonriaCat/pseuds/SonriaCat
Summary: Devon's travel time estimate to New Pacifica keeps inching upward.





	Out of Hibernation

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Sunset

She’d been struck dumb the first time she saw a sunset on G889.

It was the night after they’d crashed, before they’d even managed to determine their position. She’d had a thousand different things on her mind, most of them worries. But when she’d looked up and seen a kaleidoscope of colors across the sky, all those thoughts fled to the back of her awareness for several long minutes.

That moment was the first time Devon had really understood, on an emotional level, just how much had been lost as the old Earth succumbed to the environmental devastation wrought by its children.

Back when Eden Project hadn’t been any more than a desperate idea, she’d decided she wouldn’t allow a repeat of that destruction. But it wasn’t until that moment, when it had first hit her in the gut, that the decision became a vow. No matter what, she would not allow her people to make the same mistakes again.

There had been more sunsets since then, of course. In fact, she’d almost found herself getting used to them. Tonight was one of the nights she had to make an effort to remember how she’d reacted the first time she ever saw a sunset.

They might not make it in time.

She’d originally estimated nine months to New Pacifica, naively thinking they’d be able to travel twenty kilometers every single day. That had been proven wrong within a few days of getting started, but the two extra months she’d added to her re-calculated figure still left them with well over a year to set up the colony once they arrived.

And then, the approaching winter had forced them to stop and set up this semi-permanent camp. Devon’s time calculations had flown out the window.

Yale didn’t believe the winter would last so long that they’d get to New Pacifica after the colony ship did, but when she’d pressed him, he’d admitted he wasn’t sure how long they’d have to set up the colony once they got there. If they left here soon, they would probably be okay. But if they didn’t….

Devon sighed, using the sunset to remind herself that it was a miracle Eden Advance was still here at all.

“Mom?”

Uly’s eyes stared up from between hat and scarf. “I didn’t hear you come up.”

“You looked like you were a million klicks away.”

“Not quite so far.” She forced a laugh for his sake. “Only a few thousand.”

“New Pacifica again?”

“Yes.” She knelt down so she was at his eye level. “It’s going to be dark soon. Why are you still out here?”

“I wanted to watch the sunset with you,” he answered.

She didn’t have to force her smile this time as she put an arm around his shoulders. “Thank you. I’m glad to have someone to share it with.”

Uly leaned against her. “Don’t worry, Mom. We’ll make it in time to set up the colony.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“We will. You’ll see. The Terrians say it gets easier on the other side of the river. We’ll travel faster then.”

“But we still have to get there first, sweetie. And the Terrians don’t have the same sense of time that we do. It won’t be as easy as just swimming through the earth the way they do.”

“We’ll still get there,” he insisted. “It’s going to be spring soon. That’s why the Terrians are talking again. They’ve already come out of hibernation, you know.”

“No,” she said quietly. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, they are. So we’ll be out of hibernation again soon too.” He looked at the sky. “You’re missing the last of the sunset.”

Above them, the reds and oranges had shaded into purples and blues. Devon put her other arm around Uly and hugged him close until full darkness fell. She hadn’t really thought of Winter Camp as hibernation before, but the comparison made sense. It also made sense that the Terrians wouldn’t come out of hibernation until spring neared.

As the stars came out, she smiled, realizing that Uly’s words had replaced her despair with hope.

They still had time. They could make it.


End file.
